County Fire Department Seeks Purchase of New Fire Truck

September 25, 2020
By: Dwayne Page

DeKalb County is currently served by 12 community fire stations, many of them with fire trucks that are aging. Some are more than 20 years old and one, a reserve fire truck, is a 1979 model.

During Thursday night’s committee of the whole meeting of the county commission, Matt Adcock, 6th district commissioner and member of the fire department, requested that the county consider purchasing a new fire truck to replace an older one in the fleet. Adcock said its important that the county implement a replacement schedule on these trucks so they all don’t wear out at the same time.

Adcock said he made this request during meetings of the budget committee over the summer but funds for a new fire truck were not included in this year’s budget.

County Fire Chief Donny Green added that now would be a good time to make such a purchase without spending local tax dollars since the county has received a one-time local government grant from the state. The county is getting $822,841 from that grant but half the money has already been allocated for other projects. The rest $411,421 is in a general fund reserve account which could be spent by the county commission as it deems necessary.

Adcock said he has obtained a quote for a new demo truck and based on that the starting base price would be $249,000.

Second district commissioner Myron Rhody questioned why the county should buy a new fire truck for an existing fire station when other communities needing a fire station don’t have one.

“I can’t justify spending a quarter of a million dollars to replace one when there are other fire halls with no engines,” said Rhody.

Rhody added that a fire truck doesn’t necessarily have to be replaced based just on age if it still serves needs and passes inspection.

“We do not have certified class-a pumpers in every station and those that are not class-a pumpers won’t pass certification. We can’t get insurance (ISO) credit on them. We have two stations right now that have the old homemade trucks that we built. They are not class-a. Also our reserve truck did not pass the pump test, ” said Chief Green .

“Then why do we have them (if they don’t pass certification),” asked Rhody.

“Because that’s all we have (to work with). We have to use them but we don’t get ISO insurance credit on them,” answered Chief Green.

The county is getting the opportunity to purchase a new tanker truck for the fire department thanks to a Community Development Block Grant which has been awarded through the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development. The county’s local grant match is $70,000 making the total project $349,518.

First district commissioner Dennis Slager said while he is glad the department is getting a new tanker truck (the 2nd one in the fleet) perhaps the county should have applied for a new fire engine instead.

Chief Green explained that the county’s chances for getting a grant funded fire truck were not as good as for a tanker under this CDBG program. Unlike a pumper, a tanker can only be used to transport water to a fire scene.

“The priority of the grant was the more communities you impact the higher you score on the application so we sought a tanker because it would benefit the whole county. We really didn’t stand a chance applying for a pumper that serves a single community. That’s not my opinion that was from people in the grant office,” said Chief Green.

Slager suggested that the county commission postpone any action on purchasing a new fire truck until the department proposes a detailed replacement schedule.

“Its very obvious this needs further discussion before we start voting to buy a fire truck. I think we need to let Chief Green come up with a plan of what needs to be replaced and a sequence. I’m glad they got a second tanker but it looks like the money should have been spent for engines instead of a second tanker. He (Chief Green) could tell us what desperately needs to be replaced and come up with a sequence in the next few years of trying to replace engines. Its obvious a 1979 reserve truck is probably not too good but without a detailed plan, it may be too premature in voting for a fire truck,” said Commissioner Slager.

Chief Green said the Fire Department has been calling on county commissions to implement a replacement schedule on aging fire equipment for several years.

In a WJLE news article posted in April, 2012 Chief Green said the following in addressing the county commission. “ If we’re not careful, we’re going to wind up with a bunch of trucks all the same age. We’ve been fortunate to get in on some of these grants over the years. If we can keep this rolling to where we can get those updated we won’t get behind”.

During Thursday night’s meeting, Chief Green said “I can’t think of how many years I have done this but for years I have brought the commission a worksheet showing the fleet age and what should be replaced as it gets old. I have expressed this time after time. We are going to have all our fleet to replace at one time if we don’t blend in some new equipment. I’m good with buying old but I don’t want you to ask me when I have to present a budget request later that we need five fire trucks in one year why I didn’t phase in some new trucks over time. We have an opportunity with this COVID-19 grant money but if you don’t want to spend it for this we will make do with what we have. I’ll be glad to meet with the emergency services committee to discuss this further and let you look at our trucks if you want to,” added Chief Green.

The issue is on the agenda for discussion during Monday night’s regular monthly meeting of the county commission which will be held at 6:30 p.m. at the Mike Foster Multi-Purpose Center in the auditorium.

September 24, 2020
By: Dwayne Page

The DCHS Tigers will head to Woodbury Friday night to take on the winless Cannon County Lions.

(Click link below to hear WJLE’s Tiger Talk Show this week)

https://www.wjle.com/tiger-talk-september-25/

Kick-off is at 7 p.m. and WJLE will have LIVE coverage on AM 1480/FM 101.7 and LIVE streaming at www.wjle.com with the Voice of the Tigers John Pryor and Luke Willoughby.

The DCHS administration reminds Tiger fans that there will be no ticket sales at the gate in Woodbury for Friday night’s game.

DeKalb County is 2-3 while the Lions are 0-5.

Speaking on WJLE’s Tiger Talk program, Coach Steve Trapp said it was good to see his team dominate in last week’s 32-0 win at Grundy County, especially when the previous four games of the season had been so close

“I am really proud of our guys. It was good to have a Friday night that wasn’t as stressful as the other ones. Every game we had played up until that point was a one score game. They really did a good job in all phases of the game to come away with the victory in that fashion,” he said.

As for Cannon County, Coach Trapp said preparing for the Lions has been similar to the preparation for Grundy County.

“Preparing for the wing-t can be a difficult thing since our offensive philosophy is so different than the wing-t as far as spreading it out and things like that so to get your scout team learning another team’s offensive system when it is totally different from yours is challenging. But although they (Cannon County) have some different philosophies in what they do compared to Grundy County a lot of the formations are very similar so it does give us a little bit of a leg up being able to prepare for it for two weeks instead of just one,” said Coach Trapp.

The Lions losses have been to Walker Valley 39-0, Warren County 48-0, Sequatchie County 46-0, Community 28-20, and Upperman 48-6.

DeKalb County has beaten Stone Memorial 31-30 and Grundy County 32-0 but has lost to Warren County 30-24, Upperman 27-21, and to Watertown 21-14.

WJLE’s Pre-Game shows begin with “Coach to Coach” at 5:00 p.m. featuring former UT assistant coach Doug Matthews with former coach Dave McGinnis and broadcaster Larry Stone talking Tennessee and SEC football.

“Coach to Coach” is followed by “Murphy’s Matchups at 6:00 p.m., a look at Tennessee High School Football from Murphy Fair with commentary on games and coaches interviews.

“Tiger Talk” airs at 6:30 p.m. on WJLE with the Voice of the Tigers John Pryor interviewing Coach Steve Trapp and Tiger football players Colby Barnes, Brady Hale and Axel Aldino.

September 24, 2020
By: Dwayne Page

Congressional candidate Chris Finley was in DeKalb County Wednesday on the campaign trail in his quest to unseat Incumbent John Rose in the November 3 election.

Finley, a Democrat, is from Sparta but he has roots in DeKalb County as his mother was a local native.

If elected, Finley said he would hold regular town hall meetings and respond to the needs of the common man rather than big business people. Finley said.

“Everybody in these big companies especially these chief executives are increasing their pay while squeezing the working people even more. That’s what is wrong with our country right now. The working Joe’s and Jane’s are just pawns. They are numbers. You don’t see that in small businesses. They (small businesses) take care of their employees because they know that is who is important,” he said.

Finley added that Congress is also blame. “ Some of them have been in Washington so long that they have forgotten what it is to work for a paycheck. They have given themselves great benefits and pay. They spend all their time in Washington but they don’t interact with people,” he said.

“One of the major things I want to bring back is a town hall meeting. The important thing is that I will listen. I don’t know everything and if I get elected I still won’t know everything. Some of these guys (congressmen) seem like they do know everything and don’t ever listen to people. I am hearing that over and over again about how disconnected they are and that they live in a bubble. How do you solve that? You find somebody who is willing to get out among the people and listen to their issues,” said Finley.

In a prepared media release, Finley said “ I was born and raised on the family farm in which I still own. I graduated from White County High School. At Tennessee Tech I earned a Bachelor of Science degree with a major in accounting and a minor in history.

“My roots and love of Tennessee run very deep. My great, great, great, great grandfather fought in the Battle of Kings Mountain and is buried in Cedar Grove Cemetery in Lebanon. Many of my other ancestors fought in the Revolution as well, and two of them died during the War. My great, great grandfather and his brother signed the first petition to form Putnam County in 1842. I am blessed to be part of a long line that has fought and worked to make our community a better place for us all”.

“My father was also born in White County, and after serving in World War II, he was a banker for 33 years. My father loved people and worked hard to serve his community’s needs. Many is the time I have been told how my father helped someone in tough times. I learned from him to care for the people in my community, to reach out and help whenever possible”.

“My mother was born in DeKalb County. Her family had close ties with Joe L. Evins. It was from those ties that I learned how a member of Congress can serve and help in the community. The love and respect for Joe L. Evins is evidenced by the many buildings in the district which bear his name”.

“I suppose service is in my DNA, and I have been disappointed in our representatives in Congress not living up to the ideals of Joe L. Evins. The people of his district came first. They were his friends and neighbors, and he worked hard to improve the lives of those people in all parts of the district. It’s time for you the voter to be once again the first priority of your Representative in Congress”.

“There is much work to be done, and I ask for your help to put this on the right path, to reach out across party lines and get the job done. To that end, I pledge to have town hall meetings throughout my time in Congress, to give my friends and neighbors a real voice. Together, let’s be the difference our country needs in these difficult times,” the statement concluded.

Finley is one of two candidates on the ballot trying to defeat Congressman Rose, a Republican. The other is Christopher B. Monday, an Independent.

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